This was a really random — and cheap — game that we found on the Nintendo Switch’s eShop with the intent to give it a shot while doing our Switch anniversary stream last month. We never got a chance to play this game then, but we did recently.

We saw the name of the game and thought it was brilliant. After seeing it was only 99-cents (at the time we bought it), we figured we’d give it a shot. What do we have to lose?

Turning this game on reminded me of a Pac-Man arcade cabinet. The objective is to collect all the coins scattered in the maze. You control your character from a birds-eye view and avoid any enemies while collecting the coins. Different enemies have different patterns — some go straight after you, some go in random directions, some are a mixture.

You can play alone or with up to three friends. You collectively collect the coins all the while avoiding the enemies in the adventure mode, as Kris said. Be careful though because if one of you gets hit by an enemy, you all die. You share lives and if you run out, it’s game over. There’s no saving in the middle of the dungeons (there are five levels, each seems to be about 15 or so stages long) so if you game over, you have to start the dungeon from the first level again.

There is a timer bonus for each stage, so if you are able to collect all of the coins in each level before that timer runs out, you’ll receive bonus lives. There is no consequence for not completing the level before the timer runs out, though. The stages get more difficult as you progress, with more enemies and more coins to collect, but they also tend to give you plenty of power-ups.

Power-ups include clovers to turn you invisible for a short amount of time, gems to make you invincible for a short amount of time, and bombs that don’t explode but freeze your enemies for a short amount of time. In addition to the adventure mode, there’s a versus mode. One can be a good guy while the other player can choose an enemy to play. The mode plays the same as the adventure mode except you’re not on a team and you’re running away (or trying to catch) your friend before all the coins are gathered.

You can mix up how many players are on each side as well, considering that the game offers each player the choice in which character to be, whether one of the heroes or one of the enemies. In the versus mode, I opted to play as the guard dog to try to catch Rachel’s knight. The versus maze also spawned one each of the enemy characters — a skeleton, a hooded skeleton, and another guard dog — for my side to get Rachel. Whether that same amount of NPCs spawn no matter how many player characters are there, we’re not sure.

To be honest, I didn’t think that was a little fair considering the other players are smarter than the AI. Despite being the dog, who normally only chases you if they see you but otherwise only go in a straight line, Kris just chased me no matter what. So it made it all the harder to dodge her and the AI.

The graphics of this game are cute, reminding me of smoother 8-bit graphics. The levels are interesting, each maze unique but clear when it comes to showing where the twists and turns are. Every character — whether on the hero or the villain side — looks unique and it’s easy to tell where every player is.

The graphics are definitely cute. You can play as a ninja, knight, boy, or girl. The enemies include a dog… so that’s always a plus.

I liked the music as well, although it did sound more epic than the game itself. The game was a little silly, and the loading screen music reminded me of Mission Impossible while the music for the levels was a little more upbeat and fast-paced to go along with the collecting theme.

There wasn’t much to the sound effects either. Children clapped when you won the level (seriously – it sounded like royalty-free applause from the Internet) and your character made a “d’oh” sound when they were caught by an enemy. Though there was no effect for the characters moving or picking up coins, which made it a little less satisfying.

While the levels remain the same, there is replayability in this game with the multiplayer aspects in the adventuring mode and the versus mode. The game goes up to four players with both modes, and it’s a fun little game to play during a game night with friends.

It’s fun to play with friends, yeah. I don’t think it’d be as fun alone. However, there aren’t many levels and they’re quick to get through. So, it’s a fun game to play once in a while, but once you beat it, you might not pick it back up again for quite some time.

Quest for the Golden Duck gets…3 out of 5 lives.

Have you played this game? What did you think? Let us know in the comments!

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